Just wondering what you guys think of it? I like everything so far except the fact we don't have channels anymore. Its kind of a downer because it would be nice to have a place we can chat with other players. Channels are what made so many blizzard games so great because you always had communities who existed in them. Now there is no channels so the community feels less there. I think this damages the "connected" experience we have because we cannot communicate with other players as easily. On the other hand I do like the new features the feedback and profiles are awesome. It gives players the ability to really make them selfs stand out.
I don't think channels have been entirely eliminated. Right now there is some kind social menu or interface that is greyed out, there might be channel options in there.
I hope they haven't removed channels. I like talking to people in different channels. There are some nice people that exist in them, you know?
Unfortunately there isn't one in the social tab. I've checked the only thing it gives you is a friends list and you cannot talk to people outside of it. I just hope its temporary and they include channels later on. I've always enjoyed the channels on the original battle.net it gives the game a sense of community.
I'm not stressed about the channels. I usually just have the group go to My Void and we coordinate there. If there is some friends chat feature, that does the same thing. I'm OK with it.
While the new battle.net is undoubtedly versatile, it seems unnecessarily clunky to me. It is biased towards people who already know each other, while making it difficult for a new person integrate with an established group. Consider the simple act of looking at another player's profile, which is currently a task and a half. Also being limited to private messaging groups between "friends" would likely make SC2 more antisocial and cliquey than it needs to be. When a newcomer is meeting an established group for the first time, a public (or semi-public) chat space is crucial for maximal comfort of all persons. That's what channels provided.
